


The Avoidance of Family

by JSheets716



Category: Welcome to Hell - All Media Types
Genre: Christmas Fluff, M/M, Welcome to Hell Secret Santa 2015
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 17:38:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,615
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15890838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JSheets716/pseuds/JSheets716
Summary: Jonathan Combs HATES the holidays. He hates when relatives come to visit, and can't stand being surrounded by family.Sock likes the holidays, but when he's invited to a holiday mixer in Heaven, he can't bring himself to go, for fear of running into his parents.So both of them try their best to avoid their relatives.





	The Avoidance of Family

**Author's Note:**

> This was my entry into the Welcome to Hell Christmas Exchange in 2015. This was my gift to Tumblr user "the-d-ave", and I wrote it for them. When I wrote it, I tried to keep it in the spirit of the short. I found it lurking in my computer so I decided to add it into the archive.

Jonathan Combs was quick to slam the door behind him and leave the house, not looking back and having no desire to. He needed space, distance. Family was far too stressful to deal with at the moment. His mom was probably going to kill him when he returned to the house. Jon could picture her right now, face flush with embarrassment as she nervously laughed and came up with an excuse to justify his rude behavior to his relatives.

“Teenagers...” she'd say, with a slight roll of her eyes. “He'll be back in time for dessert.” she'd excuse.

Jon knew he'd have to, lest he receive a lecture from his mother. He just couldn't sit at the table and listen to his uncle anymore. The man was a preacher at his church two towns over, and he was a blatant homophobe. He had decided to launch into an impromptu sermon about the “wicked ways of the gays” while gnawing on his ham dinner. Listening to him turned Jonathan's stomach. True, Jon didn't like many people. In fact, he prided himself on not liking anyone. But he didn't hate people based on sexuality. Jon's uncle had been merely citing the beliefs of his religion, or so he claimed. But really it was just an excuse to be an asshole, and Jon didn't want to listen to it. So he didn't. He merely excused himself, grabbed his signature headphones, and ventured out of the house.

Thankfully it had been a rather warm Christmas, and no snow was to be seen. Which was good for Jon, because he didn't want to waste the five minutes it would take lacing up a pair of boots. Plus, he didn't even need a jacket, which meant he could wear his favorite grey hoodie. He wasn't quite sure where he was heading, but he walked swiftly. The faster he got away from his uncle's bigotry the better. He fished his phone out of his hoodie pocket and hit the music app, shuffling through playlists, trying to find the perfect one to capture his disgruntled mood at the moment. Then he paused as he saw a new one on his phone:

<3 Hot Stuff <3 was the title of the playlist. Jonathan felt the usual scowl he maintained softening somewhat as he examined the playlist Sock had made for him. He hit play and smiled as the first chord in his favorite Valhalla Soundbox song started playing. He wanted to lynch the little demon for messing with his phone, and would have on any other day. But this was a killer playlist, and it was Christmas...

~~

“Kid, you comin' to the mixer or not?” a thick Jersey accent asked him, and Sock found himself face to face with his boss, who was currently straightening out a bright mulberry red suit he had picked out just for the occasion.

Sock shuffled a bit in his spot, looking away from the eyes of the devil, anxiously fiddling with the goggles on his hat. A nervous habit that did not go beyond Mephistopheles' notice.

“Come on, Sock. This is the only time us angels and demons really get together. Put aside all of our differences in the name of goodwill, peace on Earth, yada yada....”

“Yeah...” Sock muttered, not feeling the slighest bit convinced. The mixer was taking place in Heaven, and Sock couldn't help but feel anxious and uneasy at the thought. Could it be because he was a demon? Perhaps such resistance to the holy spirtiual plane was something innate, some sort of hardwired demon thing?

“The hors d'oeuvres are divine.” Mephistopheles promised.

When Sock was silent, he tried again.

“And the eggnog is simply heavenly.”

“More puns?” Sock asked, in mock disbelief. He was hardly surprised, though. Mephistopheles practically lived for puns. In fact, Sock was convinced that Mephi got some sort of sick thrill coming up with the most terrible pun he could ever think of.

“Come on, Sowachowski. Let me see them pearly gates... I mean whites.” the devil rorted with an impish grin, causing Sock to groan in annoyance.

“Oh, come on! Now you're not even trying to be clever!” Sock griped, causing his boss's amused smirk to widen.

“Not every pun is blessed to be a winner. Sometimes you just gotta roll with it and say whatever comes out of the Great Unknown of your brain. You can worry about how terrible the pun is hereafter.” Mephistopheles said, much to Sock's chagrin. Sock couldn't help but feel that if Mephi had five minutes alone with Jonathan, he would have done Sock's job and convinced the boy to kill himself. Maybe Sock should try some more puns. He doubted he could match Mephistopheles' verbal wordplay, but anything was better than the tired old “Kill yourself.”

Mephistopheles finished adjusting his outfit and gave a look to his pensive protogee. “So what's the deal, kid. Why don't you wanna go? Not every day we get to fraternize with the enemy.” the lord of hell reminded him.

Sock felt his gaze fall, unable to meet his boss's yellow eyes. “...It's just...”

A pang of guilt hit his chest. The reason why he didn't want to go to Heaven was...

“Your parents.” Mephistopheles finished. Sock said nothing, his face reddening with shame and his kept his gaze on the the white floor of Mephistopheles's office. He knew that his parents were there; they had to be. They were good people and they hadn't deserved to die. Plus, they weren't in Hell. So they had to be there.

“Come on, kid. I'm sure they'll wanna see you.” Mephi promised, his demeanor softening for a rare and fleeting moment. “Plus, it's Christmas.” Mephi reminded him.

Sock couldn't go, however. He wasn't ready to face them.

“I think I'll pass.” Sock muttered.

“Alright kid. Your loss. Feel free to crash if you change your mind. I'll leave your name with St. Peter.” Mephistopheles promised, before turning to leave, leaving Sock alone.

Where could he go now? His first thought was Jonathan. He didn't have many friends in Hell, and Jonathan was probably his only friend topside. Mostly because no one could see him, but even while he was alive, he hadn't had many close friends. It was why killing himself had been so easy. Without his parents, he didn't have any other ties to keep him living. He wondered how Jonathan would feel with a surprise Christmas visit...

~~

The first place Sock checked was Jonathan's house. He spotted several Combs relatives, but easily and invisibly snaked his way in and out of the house, trying to find his human. Even if Jon wouldn't be able to talk to him (it would be difficult to explain why Jon was suddenly talking to himself out loud) at least Sock wouldn't be totally alone this Christmas. He'd have a friend.

Unfortunately, however, Jonathan wasn't home...

~~

Jonathan had to hand it to the little jerk. Sock had developed a good ear for music. Granted, it was all his music, but Sock's music tastes had grown immensely since first discovering Valhalla Soundbox. As he neared the end of the playlist, he spotted a familiar form in the distance, standing by the bus stop, seemingly waiting for something. The form was wearing a pink pleaded skirt and ripped jeans, and one stupid and ridiculous hat. But it made Jon smile all the same, and he spoke as he removed his headphones, sauntering up to the demon.

“Merry Christmas!” Jon said, with a brief but genuine smile. Sock spun around in recollection of the voice and beamed back, briefly looking around to see if they were alone. They were. Nighttime on Christmas Eve meant everyone was having dinner with their families.

“Merry Christmas.” Sock replied in greeting, as Jon took the purple headphones off and rested them on his neck

“What're you doing here? I thought you on vacation?” Jonathan asked. From what the ghostly demon had told him, Mephistopheles had given Sock two weeks off to enjoy the holidays. He hadn't seen Sock in about a week, which was honestly a relief. Though Jon had grown accustomed to the little demon, it would have been impossible to take his mid-terms being pestered as Sock was want to do. Jonathan still had no idea WHY Sock wanted him to kill himself, but he certainly appreciated the break.

“I am. I just needed a break from Hell is all.” Sock explained.

Jonathan snorted. “Turf war getting too intense? I thought the Network Execs had control?” Jonathan asked, remembering Sock had filled him in on the turf wars in Hell.

“They do. But there was this party in Heaven... I didn't really wanna go...” Sock explained. Jon raised an eyebrow, trying to imagine Sock at a party. It was a sight that was hard to picture. Granted, he wasn'r one to judge. He couldn't stand to be around most people.

“Heaven, huh? Sounds more fun than my house. I bet the angels know how to throw a rager... Not into parties?” Sock shook his head no in response. He didn't feel like going into an explanation on why he wouldn't go. Jonathan didn't need that heavy family drama. Fortunately Jon didn't push it. Instead, he turned quiet and began walking.

Sock floated along, following. Things began to fall into routine. For a brief moment, for both of them, things seemed normal. No pressure or dealing with family. It was just the two of them, doing something they normally did. In this case, it was walking from the bus stop. And for the first time that day, both were happy.

“So I found your playlist...” Jon said.


End file.
